TOOTOO MANYMANY COOKES?COOKES?

DAVID P. WEBSTER

While the extraordinary number of performers named circus dynasty. I found a great deal of interest in many of their orig- Cooke may make research difficult, there should never be com- inal circus posters from the early 1800s and was lucky enough to pur- plaints of too many Cookes as this great old family of showmen played chase several Cooke circus posters at a church book sale in Edin- an extremely important part in popularizing and were, with burgh. It did not take me long to reach the conclusion that the Cooke good reason, great supporters of strongmen. They, more than any- family made a very significant contribution to the development of body else, set the scene for the Golden Age of Strength. Many think the circus. Even their very early posters featured strength and pos- that strongman acts began with Samson and Sandow in late Victo- ing acts, which is not surprising considering that the founder and some rian times but that is far from true; there were good, well-known of his descendants were just such performers. strongmen one hundred years earlier and what’s more, they were very Thomas Taplin Cooke was a professional strongman with versatile performers capable of feats which are beyond the capabili- his father’s circus and in his act he supported on his chest a plat- ties of most strongmen today. form on which ten men mounted and were held solidly to great The Cookes were descended from a baronet, Sir Thomas applause. This might merely have been bearing the weight while Cooke, Bart., of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, a strongman who founded lying on the ground, a stunt of no great merit, but “being held solid- one of the very first travelling circuses and thus earned an enviable ly to great applause,” as stated in the contemporary report suggests place in history. It was also one of the first families to take a com- that it could be one of the earliest recorded examples of the Tomb plete circus abroad —but that is getting a little ahead of the story. of Hercules feat. He became well known in the Scottish fairground The exact date of the founding of this circus is difficult to booths of the late eighteenth century and became even more like pinpoint and it is likely to be earlier than generally stated. Certainly his father when he, too, became a noted proprietor. Like most of the they toured in the early 1800s, but if Cooke’s Circus was much enjoyed Cookes, Thomas Taplin was an all-round athlete, a competent tightrope by Scotland’s national poet, as has been claimed, than it must have walker and talented equestrian. As he took over from his dad, and been quite a lot earlier than was generally believed as Robert Burns became thought of as the patriarch, the strongman’s offspring inter- lived from 1759-1796. This fits in with other accepted dates, e.g. married into shows throughout the world. It was almost certainly the Thomas Taplin Cooke, son of the founder, was born into the circus first major circus family in existence. family in Warwick in 1782, so they were already on the road at that By going to Spain and Portugal, and appearing in Lisbon time. in 1816, Thomas Cooke’s became one of the first overseas touring Scotland became one of the Cooke’s major locations, and circuses. It was probably the second to do so, the earliest being it was because of their lasting reputation in this area and their unbro- Astley’s, recognized as being the first circus-type entertainment as ken links with strongmen that the author made a special study of this we know it today. After getting quite rich from this tour, the Cooke 13 IRON GAME HISTORY VOLUME 4 NUMBERS 5 & 6

family decided to sail to America in 1817 but the idea was aborted after losing forty good horses in a bad storm in the Bay of Biscay. Back in Britain the family established a widespread circuit of indoor facilities, permanent and semi-permanent wooden buildings, partic- ularly in Scotland where they had many venues in major cites and towns — Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Greenock. Naturally, they had many locations in England too and they became Cooke’s Royal Circus after a command performance before William IV and Queen Adelaide at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton in 1830. Six years later Thomas Cooke, with 130 per- formers (and forty of his family) eventually got to America in three sailing ships. In New York the strongman built an amphitheater seat- ing two thousand people and erected another permanent building in Baltimore. Both were burnt down, all horses being lost in the second fire. They returned to Britain in 1837 and although disheartened, con- tinued to build a circus empire. Old man Cooke died on 19 March 1866 at the age of eighty-four having seen his family become a cir- cus legend. While they have usually been associated with equestrian- ism, strength and physical acts were traditional in Cooke family shows. At Cooke’s Royal Equestrian Establishment Circus at Dundee in February 1835, J. Cooke featured “Wonderful feats of strength by the Roman Hercules or Iron Arm.” Woodcuts of Hercules were seen on many of the posters. Strength was also evident when a group of strong- men regularly gave “A surprising display of Agility by the numer- ous Artistes in which they formed many wonderful positions repre- senting Ancient Pyramidic Devices.” One of the early pyramid acts included Messers. Ansell, H. Brown, R. Brown, Candler, Cunning- ham, Furlong, Gunn, and Taylor. These names crop up on many cir- cus bills prior to 1850, often in solo acts in their own right. The ear- liest displayed advertisement of Astley’s circus from 1788 included Mr. J. Taylor as a savage chief, a part suited to a man of fine physique, and one of the Browns became a proprietor working under the name of Toumaire in 1845. William Cooke’s touring circus in and around 1840 fea- tured his personal strongman act and at various times other strong- men such as Carlo Spelterini of Italy and a Mr. Baker. The nation- alities of these stalwarts was subject to change. Spelterini was either the Italian Hercules or the Patagonian Samson. Baker was the English Strongman or the Patagonian Samson. The latter professional name was perhaps an attempt to cash in on the fame of the recent Italian strongman, Giovanni Belzoni (1778-1823). Spelterini had long been associated with Cooke’s and had done posing, balancing and strongman acts for them at a major event they staged in Vauxhall Gar- dens in London in 1827. He was also hired by William Cooke for Scottish dates in the early 1840s. One of his favorite stunts was to a large heavy plank, or a caber, on his chin. As a complete contrast and amusement, he was equally adept at balancing a pea- cock’s feather in the same way. Alfred Cooke’s Circus in June 1842 advertised “Unprece- dented Evolutions, Athletic Displays and Herculean Achievements AN 1831 POSTER ANNOUNCING A PERFORMANCE OF COOKE’S EQUES- not to be equalled by Modern Gymnastics.” In 1841, Astley’s Cir- TRIAN CIRCUS AT THE HAYMARKET THEATER IN LONDON. cus was destroyed by fire for the third time and the manager of the 14 AUGUST 1997 IRON GAME HISTORY

new Astley’s of the 1850s was the before-mentioned William Cooke Jamieson, an old athletic friend who had attended and loved these (1808-1886), second oldest son of Thomas Taplin Cooke and Mary shows. He knew well John Henry Cooke’s Royal Circus at Bridge Ann Cooke (nee Thorpe 1784-1868). William was atypical Cooke, Street, Aberdeen, in the 1890s. John Henry, son of Alfred, was a strongman like his father and grandfather before him, a superb eques- born in New York during the Cooke’s tour in 1836. Apart from the trian and a most acrobatic . He was also equally at home on family enterprises he was a popular star with Sangers and Henglers. tightrope or slack wire. On the latter he is said to have revolved The Henglers and Cookes worked in each others’ circuses and the one hundred times “standing erect on the cord.” That would be a families intermarried. In Glasgow, where Hengler’s Circus had a clever trick! We suspect this was what was known as “short swings” great following, John Henry Cooke was famous as a boxer and the as opposed to grand circles or long swings. One of William Cooke’s Saxon Trio was another star attraction with Hengler’s in Glasgow at incredible strongman feats was performed high above the ring. He the beginning of the century. Of course John Henry was also an eques- hung upside down from a small platform and held suspended from trian of exceptional merit, indeed of world class, and in addition to his hands a grown horse. No doubt he was well strapped but it was nine American tours he travelled all over the globe with great suc- nevertheless a spectacular presentation and the earliest performance cess. He died on 22 August 1917. I know of such a feat, although it was soon being copied by others. Another benefactor to strongmen of that era was William On 22 February 1836 there was a benefit for Mr. William Batty (1801-1868), a man of indominatable energy and enterprise, Cooke at Aberdeen in the northeast of Scotland and, of course, the who toured widely from the 1820s until the 1840s. In 1841, show- beneficiary was well featured. The large woodcut on the poster for ing great opportunism when Astley’s was burned, Batty converted this special event shows a strongman of bulky proportions fighting Lambeth Baths, London, into a circus and did good business. A year with a lion. We speculate whether this was supposed to represent the later at the Olympic Arena, as he called his new establishment, Batty star of the show. Posing was popular at that time and an “Italian Stat- booked a fine strength act which featured stunts similar to those of ues” act was one of the highlights. William and his brother James William Cooke and should not be overlooked in this review. The had put such an act together and a month earlier had presented an athlete, Walker, hung suspended by his feet and supported the weight attractive series of tableaux —Two Marble Statues —and ten glad- of six men. He also held six cartwheels in the same way, although itorial poses were described in the adverts. two of them were on his feet and the weight taken by slings. The per- With the passing of the years William Cooke became less former is almost certainly H. Walker who was a wirewalker with energetic and more involved with just as Zass, the Batty and also Cooke’s around that time. Amazing Samson did almost one hundred years later. William was Lavator Lee (1817-1891) appeared in the same programme not only a third generation strongman but also a third generation cir- and on a special benefit night he threw twelve fifty-six pound weights cus proprietor, and clearly a very approachable individual. In Circus over his head, vaulted over fourteen horses, threw a back somersault Life and Celebrities, Frost records how a circus entrepreneur in on the back of a horse going at full speed and turned twenty-one for- difficulties travelled to London on the night train and roused William ward somersaults without the aid of a springboard. Most impor- Cooke very early in the morning. In spite of the unearthly hour, Cooke tant, Lee did the Roman Chair exercise with an iron bar weighing one helped greatly, hiring him nine horses and at the same time arrange- hundred pounds. In past literature, Felice Prades, known as Napoli ments were made for Thomas Cooke to be ringmaster and his son (born in 1821), Professor Atilla (Louis Durlacher 1844-1924) and James to be a rider. Sandow (Friedrich Muller, 1867-1925), have all been credited with William Cooke leased Astley’s from William Batty from the origination of the Roman Chair feat but, undoubtedly, Lavator 1853 until 1860. He gave up the lease at that time as Batty, a very did it much earlier than any of them. Lavator Lee was a good horse- rich man, wished to raise the rent or, alternatively, to sell the prop- man, gymnast and balancer. He died at Battersea, London, on 18 erty. Cooke refused the terms offered and Astley’s went into decline March 1871 and was buried at Norwood Cemetery. and never recovered. There have been contradictory views on the Evan Dewhurst, the clown at this show, got into strength success of Cooke’s tenancy. Thomas Frost, in 1875, wrote that all stunts by walking on his hands carrying in his mouth two fifty-six Batty’s successors with the exception of William Cooke had signally pound weights. This was the same Mr. Dewhurst who appeared with failed. Cooke’s presentation at Astley’s of the Battle of Waterloo Astley’s and in 1840 with Cooke’s Royal Circus in an act called “great was undoubtedly a great box office hit and they always found indoor Gymnastic Efforts.” Dewhurst had a nice line of patter and was venues to be cost effective. However, William also diversified with famous for his witty observations and curious speeches. travelling, tented circuses and some authorities believe these subsi- These are just a few examples of strongmen who were dized Astley’s — though it could have been the opposite. active in my own locality and throughout Britain long before the great William Cooke retired in 1860 and his son, another William, names of strength we know today. Their lifestyles were shocking by took over the management until 2 April 1862 when the company and today’s standards — poor food, unsanitary conditions, no scientific its assets were sold. The senior William died in Brixton, London training or barbells, unhygenic living quarters, with many lesser per- on 6 May 1886, leaving five children by his first wife Mary Ann and formers doubling as beastminders and sleeping alongside the ani- two by his second wife, Sarah. Cooke’s circuses remained promi- mals. Yet their performances were outstanding and we welcome the nent in Scotland until after the start of World War I. On several occa- opportunity to share this information and give credit where credit is sions I listened with great pleasure to personal descriptions by Allan due.

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